Author: Nina Bambysheva, Forbes
Compiled by: DeepChain TechFlow
DeepChain Summary: While many crypto venture capital firms are shifting their focus toward AI and robotics, RockawayX is doubling down on crypto by acquiring Relayer Capital and raising a new $150 million fund. Relayer’s approximately 70% return this year, along with strong positions in Hyperliquid and Venice AI, underpins its confidence to expand amid market headwinds. This signals that some native crypto capital has already refocused on liquid assets ahead of the market rebound—a development worth noting for investors.
According to sources, Prague-based digital assets investment firm RockawayX manages approximately $2 billion in assets. Following its acquisition of the crypto hedge fund Relayer Capital, the company is seeking $150 million for a new liquidity opportunities fund.
According to insiders, Austin Barack, founder of Relayer, formerly served as a partner at the crypto investment firm CoinFund and will remain at RockawayX to oversee the fund. The fund will invest in “undervalued tokens and crypto-related equities.”
This move may appear counterintuitive prior to the recent rally in the crypto market. Over the past week, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have risen more than 20%. Meanwhile, several prominent crypto venture capital firms have expanded their investment scope to include artificial intelligence, robotics, and other technologies. These include Paradigm and Framework Ventures in San Francisco.
However, Relayer’s performance may have helped convince these early Solana supporters to deepen their commitment to the sector through the acquisition of the fund. According to insiders, Relayer holds positions in popular projects such as the perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid and the decentralized AI platform Venice AI. Both tokens have risen 219% and 1,006% this year, respectively, giving Relayer an approximate 70% return for the year—far outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The market cap of Hyperliquid’s token is around $18 billion, and Venice AI’s token is valued at over $800 million.
This acquisition is the latest step in RockawayX’s expansion from traditional venture capital into broader areas. In February of this year, the company entered the crypto treasury management space through another acquisition. A treasury is a non-custodial smart contract that pools user funds and deploys them into yield-generating strategies. Since then, these treasuries have attracted over $200 million in deposits.
This expansion occurred after its merger with Solana treasury firm Solmate fell through. In June, RockawayX’s investment vehicle RBCH Ltd. sued Solmate’s board members in a New York state court. RBCH Ltd., Solmate’s largest external shareholder, alleged self-dealing and other misconduct by the board. Solmate had previously sued RockawayX and its CEO separately over the failed acquisition talks, accusing the company of providing “misleading financial statements” and engaging in “fraudulent activities” that harmed its valuation. RockawayX denies these allegations, calling them retaliatory. Both cases are still pending.